A Small Gesture
by lovagirl132
Summary: Ino walked under the mistletoe with Shikamaru! What is she supposed to do when Shikamaru bluntly refuses to kiss her? ShikaIno InoShika ShikamaruxIno InoxShikamaru


**A Small Gesture**

There he goes again, I think in distaste as Shikamaru Nara, aka best guy friend, aka lazy ass, raises his hand to cover his mouth and look the other way, not looking me in the eye.

Usually I wouldn't have noticed such a small gesture, but in a situation such as the one I am in, I can't help noticing every little thing he does. It may have been because I was looking at him strangely, it may have been because I was saying strange things, but I definitely knew it had to do with the small green plant whose bells tinkled above our heads in the Nara household.

How exactly we got into the awkward situation called 'Standing Under Mistletoe', would involve the story of how Shikamaru and I grew up. But, unfortunately, I don't have the time and, as Shikamaru says, the attention span long enough to go that far back. So, I'll settle with just half an hour ago and how I, Ino Yamanaka, ended up under a mistletoe with Shikamaru.

**30 Minutes Ago**

"I'm coming, I'm coming!" I shouted angrily as I stormed over to the door. It was perfectly natural for me to be upset that BOTH my parents had gotten a mission the day before Christmas. My father had promised many gifts and my favorite Christmas Eve dinner cooked by mom herself.

_Bullshit..._, I thought irritably as I opened the door with a large frown on my face. My frown increased as I looked up to see the lazy eyes of the Nara. He breathed hot air onto his already gloved hands as he looked at my questioning face.

"Mum wants you to join us for Christmas Eve dinner..." He muttered as he moved his hands away from his mouth to rub together for heat instead. He smiled slightly when a large joyous grin spread across my face, getting rid of the foul mood I had been in moments before. I ran inside, grabbed my coat, and then followed him out the door , locking it behind me carefully. The least I would want was to enter my house and see some holiday drunk laying unconscious on my couch...Again.

As we walked cautiously towards his house so as to not trip and fall on the ice, which I ended up doing anyway, I turned to look at Shikamaru. It's true, the guy HAD gotten even more handsome over the years and matured more than I could've ever imagined. It was only a few months ago when I realized my feelings for him. I looked away to blow hotly on my freezing hands.

_I wish I brought mittens..._, I sighed to myself. I looked over at him again to see his gaze fall on me. I raised an eyebrow, "Well...?"

He rolled his eyes, before removing his mittens and handing them to me only to see my shocked expression. "What...?"

"I didn't think you'd actually give them to me..." I mumbled astonished. He smirked and shook his head, turning his eyes ahead of him again.

"Just spreading Christmas joy and harmony...and all that crap." I smirked back at his usual fake-cheery voice he always had every year.

As we made it to his house and walked inside I was immediately greeted with a warm hug by Yoshino, Shikamaru's mom.

"Merry Christmas Ino dear!" She crooned gently in my ear as she squeezed me not so gently. I heard a low chuckle before Shikaku, Shikamaru's dad spoke.

"Now now, don't suffocate the girl Yoshino." The woman let go of me to send a cheery smile towards her husband.

"You know I can't help it! Christmas is my favorite time of the year where I get to spend time with my two strong men!" Shikaku walked over to grab his wife making her giggle and then kiss her.

Shikamaru let a disgusted moan, "Please you two, can't you find a room? For god's sake Ino is here...!" He grabbed his head painfully as Yoshino took a spoon out of nowhere and whacked him.

"Do not use the lord's name in vain on his day!" She stated sternly as she turned to me with a large smile. "Ino dear, would you like some eggnog...?"

I grinned and nodded as Shikaku placed an arm around his wife's shoulders. "I know I'd like some more wine!"

"Oh you Christmas drunk!" She giggled as they both walked into the kitchen leaving Shikamaru and me alone.

"Sorry about my parents, they can be troublesome during the holidays..." He mumbled as he discarded his outdoor clothes to show a green wool sweater. I took off the jacket I had been wearing as I grinned at him.

"Don't worry! At least it's not as bad as the way MY parents act!" I ran over and wrapped my arms around his waist laughing quietly. "Anyway, it doesn't matter...I just wanted to thank you for inviting me over with your family..." I let go of him as I notice him bring his hand up to cover his mouth and look the other way.

THAT'S when the bloody green weed just HAD to make it's appearance to my eyes as I looked up after hearing a small tinkle which came from the bells that hung from the plant.

"Uh...Shikamaru...Has your mom developed a new Christmas tradition to piss off visitors...?"

He looked at me again with a raised eyebrow, "No, why-" He followed the direction my eyes were staring. "Oh..." He mumbled, as disbelieving as I was.

I felt two emotions as my eyes slowly looked down from it to look at the guy in front of me. First, I felt pure embarrassment that here I was, under a mistletoe with THE Shikamaru Nara, Mr. Lazy Bum of the year. And secondly, I felt purely ecstatic that in a few more seconds I would be kissing him and be able to show him how I feel so our relationship could go from 'Best Friends' to 'Boyfriend and Girlfriend' and then to 'Husband and Wife' and then to 'Granddad and Grandma'! Or was I rushing things a little...?

"Well...," I started uneasily, looking at him as his eyes fell to mine. THAT'S when I saw his hand raise to cover his mouth as he looked away from my gaze. "Well...We wouldn't want to ruin Christmas traditions, would we...?" I stated, trying to convince him into doing the deed.

"S...," He mumbled incoherently.

"S...?" I questioned.

He turned away from me even more, "Screw Christmas traditions..." With that he left me under the mistletoe, mouth agape, and followed his parents into the kitchen.

When I slowly realized what had happened it came at me with full blow. He...rejected me...? I blinked slowly, trying to comprehend the strange foreign sentence. He...rejected **ME**...? I grit my teeth together angrily and clenched my fists tightly. **I** was **REJECTED**!?!

Without paying attention to what I was doing I stormed into the kitchen after him and grabbed his shirt collar, startling him and his parents.

"You can't just SCREW Christmas tradition!" I shouted angrily. His parents looked at me stupidly, confused as to what I was talking about.

"Ino," He said firmly, removing my fingers. "I'm not going to kiss my best friend because of a stupid tradition...It's stupid and troublesome..."

Kissing me was stupid and troublesome...? I felt my cheeks heat up in embarrassment as I looked at the floor and dropped my arms to my sides. It felt like someone had slapped me as I felt my chest clench up.

Through dinner I kept silent as the Nara's communicated amongst themselves. I didn't eat much, and played with the food in front of me with my fork. Yoshino glanced over at me worriedly.

"Ino dear, are you okay-"

I cut her off as I stood, before smiling at her, "I'm fine, I'm just not feeling very good...May I please be excused...?"

She nodded slowly, as I walked towards the door and then up the stairs towards the guest room.

The next morning I awoke to Yoshino knocking on the door before I slowly got out of bed and groggily opened it. Her arms wrapped around my sleepy form with a wide smile, "Merry Christmas Ino pie!"

I blinked a couple times until I was sure I was fully awake, and then pulled back to smile at her. She quickly held the back of my shoulders and led me down the stairs into the living room where Shikamaru and Shikaku sat patiently in front of the tree.

I ignored Shikamaru to run over and give Shikaku a hug. "Merry Christmas Mr. Nara!" I laughed, and frowned however when I heard him groan. I pulled back to see him grinning why'll clutching his head.

"Not so loud...I have a bit of hangover..."

"You have only yourself to blame for that one!" Yoshino stated sternly as she sat next to him and rubbed his arm soothingly. She turned to look at me, "Ino dear, why don't you be the first one to open your gift?"

I nodded my head, and grabbed the first present that grabbed my attention. I looked at the tag to see it was from-

"Oh that's my present dear!" Yoshino giggled excitedly.

I should have remembered the evil mischievous demon that lived inside Yoshino's soul as I reached to pull the ribbon off and unwrap the gift. My face went bright red as I peered down to see the small skimpy soft cloth of red and white lingerie. I quickly hid it, sending a pleading look at her.

"Oh sweetie why don't you show what you got...?" She smiled. I swore I saw little horns protruding from her skull as she grinned wider.

I shakily took the clothing out and showed it to the two awaiting men.

"Mom...!" Shikamaru said, outraged, and he turned to her embarrassed. "You can't get THAT for Ino!"

I frowned slightly, the embarrassment from before, gone, as I placed it carefully back in the box indifferently. "Well I like it, thank you Mrs. Nara." I lied without flinching even once.

The sudden indifferent tone seemed to disappoint Yoshino, as she frowned slightly before turning to Shikamaru with a grin. "Open yours next!"

He sighed, before grabbing the nearest package with his name and examining the tag. "To Shika from Ino..." He mumbled, glancing up at me quickly to see that I was playing with the ribbon on Yoshino's gift.

He looked back down at it before tearing it open slowly and pulling out a small photo frame with a picture of me with my arms around his neck as I grin at the camera in front of us. He smirked slightly, "Thanks Ino..."

I shrugged, looking away again. I was definitely in a bad mood towards him, and didn't feel like sharing the moment with him. I knew I was probably looking like a snob, but I couldn't help the distaste in my mouth when I thought about what he had said last night. As the present opening continued I started ignoring him even more, long enough that he seemed to have noticed, and frowned slightly.

"Hey...Ino-"

"Well, I think it's time I get going and start up the flower shop!" I said, standing up and stretching. I turned to Mr. and Mrs. Nara, "Thanks for inviting me over! I enjoyed it a bunch!" With that, I waved before walking out the door and ran as fast as I could away from their home.

Once I had reached the shop, I took out my keys, opened the door, and let myself in slowly. "I'm back!" I shouted, only to be met with silence.

_Looks like they're not back..._, I thought sullenly, as I walked over to the cash register and plopped down on the stool.

I sighed, resting my head on my hands, and stared out into the deserted streets. It wasn't surprising as I sat there for 3 hours and no one came. Who would be such a jerk as to leave their gifts LITERALLY to the last minute?

I sighed again, but perked up, however, when I heard the tinkling of bells signaling a customer. I put on a fake cheery smile. "Welco-," I paused, seeing who it was and frowned instead, suddenly finding the tabletop VERY interesting.

Shikamaru walked over and placed a small wrapped up box in front of me. "Merry Christmas Ino...You never really opened my gift..."

"Hmm." Bored, I pushed it aside and continued to not meet eyes with him. However, I almost fell out of my chair in surprise when he suddenly slammed his hands down on the counter. I looked at him finally, my eyes full of shock.

"What the hell is your problem...!?!" He shouted angrily as he glared darkly. "You've been ignoring me since last night! What the hell did I DO...!?!"

"You want to know...?!" I seethed, feeling my own anger boil up. "Here are your exact words Nara, ' I'm not going to kiss my best friend because of a stupid tradition...It's stupid and troublesome...'! If you can't figure out WHY I'm upset then you are a complete dumbass!" I slammed my hands on the counter too, and leaned forward so I was glaring with full intense right back at him.

His face took on a concentrated look as he thought about what I said, before slowly an understanding look fell on his face. He leaned back, away from the counter and me, to place his hand in his pocket, his frown replaced with a full blown smirk.

"Hey Ino...," He said, as his smirk became more amused and as he seemed to find what he was looking for in his pocket.

"What!?" I snapped irritably.

"Catch." As the words left his mouth, he threw something up in the air which fell quickly. I instinctively caught the object before it hit the counter, and opened my hand to see what he had thrown. My eyes widened immensely.

"Hey...Isn't this-" I looked up only to have his lips come down and place themselves gently on mine as his hand placed itself on my shoulder and pulled me forward. It was soft and gentle, and better than any kiss I had ever imagined. I felt my heart swell up as the butterflies in my stomach went into a strange frenzy. I slowly let my eyelids fall as I kissed him back just as softly, our lips molding together in a perfect sync.

He pulled away slowly, and seemingly reluctantly, to look me in the eyes. A lazy smirk played on his lips as he leaned back and stuffed his hands in his pockets. "Satisfied...?" He asked, as I opened my eyes.

I flushed, before I grinned happily at him, my eyes sparkling in merriment. At the look on my face he blushed along with me and brought his hand up to his mouth, turning his face away.

That's when it dawned on me what that gesture meant. Whenever Shikamaru placed his hand over his mouth, it was to cover his nervous frown, and whenever he looked away, his hand covering his mouth, it meant he was trying to hide a blush!

I shook my head slowly and unbelievingly, a smile gracing my lips before his gift that had been pushed aside moments before, caught my eye.

I picked the parcel up, instantly grabbing Shikamaru's attention, and got to work on unwrapping it.

Once it was unwrapped, I plucked out the small delicate object to see a thin diamond bracelet. My jaw dropped, disbelieving, and I examined the small jewels that shimmered across the silver.

"Don't worry, it's not fake..." Shikamaru mumbled, this time not bothering to hide the blush that covered his cheeks.

I slowly slipped my hand through the object, and held my arm out to examine it even better.

"Do you like it...?"

"Oh Shika...," I sighed, feeling my heart swell up. "It's amazing...No...BETTER than amazing!" I removed my eyes from it to look at him and smile genuinely.

He scratched the back of his head sheepishly, and tensed when I suddenly ran around the counter to hug him tightly. He slipped his arms around mine, and buried his face into my hair as I buried my face into his neck.

"Hey Ino...," He mumbled suddenly after a comfortable silence. I pulled back and raised my head to look at him. He sighed, "You don't know how troublesome this is for me, but..." He used a hand to tilt my chin up higher, "I...uh...love you."

My eyes probably looked like saucers as I stared dubiously at him. After a quick moment, I smiled softly at him, "That's good, 'cuz I love you too Nara."

He smirked, before leaning in and kissing me more passionately. He surprised me how forcefully he made his tongue trace my lips and then slip past them. He gently prodded my tongue before suddenly attacking it with his own. He held me tighter when my body went limp so as I didn't fall.

He pulled back, his breathing ragged, to hover his lips near my ear.

" Mom's gift doesn't sound so troublesome right now..." He whispered.

I thought his words over in my fuzzy head trying to comprehend what he meant, only for my face to go bright red as my foot slammed down on his foot.

* * *

Me: I haven't written a ShikaIno in a long time...

Ino: That's because you're lazy...

Me: _WHY_ DO YOU GUYS KEEP CALLING ME LA-Yeah I am...

Ino: (rolls eyes)

Me: I made Shikamaru a slight pervert...AGAIN.

Ino: Do you, like, have a fetish for perverted guys...?

Me: O.O Yes...

Ino: o.o

Me: Hope you guys liked this story! :D

Ino: Err...Please Read and Review...

Me: Or I'll throw Sasuke at you! :O


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